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Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Casting, Catching & Contemplating

Caleb took the big kids camping a couple weekends ago. With each cast came a catch.

It is such a treat to see children catching fish- on their own.They are growing up. Casting and Catching on their own.

The casting and catching makes me contemplative. This parenting thing is tough. I mean it is tough enough when you are not really trying at it. But when you add in all the pressure of trying to develop children into thoughtful, compassionate, wise and God loving adults it is slightly overwhelming.

I have been engaging in some Facebook debates over the existence of God lately. It really hasn’t been as brutal as you might imagine- it has actually helped sharpen my faith. I love the verse from 1 Peter 3:15, “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect…”

The truth is, I am caught off guard so often- dismissing a gas station attendant’s comment on her recent divorce, not having the words to encourage a sister in Christ who is struggling with sin, or worse- not having the HOPE that I should have in Christ, let alone be able to give an answer. These passing conversations along with the overwhelming feat of trying to raise adults that glorify the Lord, has got me really contemplating.

How do I need to be investing my time? Shouldn’t I close facebook and get my face in His book, so that I can be prepared for the hope that I DO HAVE? And shouldn’t I have it? Shouldn’t my hope be overflowing from His Spirit welling up within me? I want the words that I use with my children to be instructing and kind and consciously chosen, every interaction an opportunity for me to guide them.

And I need His Word to direct me and motivate me in that way.

I was listening to a really great podcast of Ravi Zacharias the other day (click HERE to hear it) and there was a portion that really resonated in my heart. Speaking of a young man who came home to his parents and told them that his class had an ethical discussion that day, and he wanted to know what they believed about a certain topic. His dad opened the Bible and said that they believed this way because this chapter and this verse says this. The young man, though he may not have vocalized it, was thinking, “that’s great dad and works really well here around our dinner table, but in the context of the classroom, if I brought that argument in, I would be the laughing stock of all my peers.”

God’s Word is Truth, and it is awesome, don’t misunderstand me- but for so many people in our society that don’t consider it relevant, we better have a way to explain God’s existence, nature and purpose- without using the Bible.

So that is one of the things I have been doing, grounding myself in the Truth from His word and finding ways to express those truths to people who don’t know it is truth. As a mom, I find it so challenging and one of the greatest endeavors to teach my children about what is true, honest and how differentiate truth from lies.

I would encourage young mother’s out there to get your hands on some resources to equip you to teach your children Truth. Here are a couple really great places to start:

3 comments:

Wow great post. Love hearing your thoughts outloud. I think our lives have to be our witness. We can't just beat people over the head with the bible because like you said not everyone believes in it. As long as we use it to make our lives glorifying hopefully they will be drawn to it eventually.

This post really resonated with me, Tyne. Thanks for sharing. I want my kids to be grounded in Truth and it is overwhelming to think about that responsibility. I try to remember, "Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit" (Gal 5:25). The more time we spend getting to know the Lord, and thus the more we are keeping in step with the Spirit, the more our lives will overflow with the Spirit. Thanks for being an encouragement to all the moms out there! :)